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Summer 2019 to be Jeka's last

Many of our clients will by now have received news that Jeka Holidays is to cease trading after summer 2019, see below for letter from our director, Shaun Taylor:

It is with regret that, on behalf of Jeka Holidays Ltd, I have to inform you that 2019 will be the last year that Jeka Holidays will be arranging holidays for Scouts, Guides and other youth groups and will cease trading at the end of September 2019.

We assure you that there is no financial reason for this decision, but it is purely for operational reasons. We remain fully bonded with ABTA and the CAA as well as a member of ABTA and will do so until the end of September 2019.

Since we started in the UK in 1987, tens of thousands of Scouts, Guides and other types of youth groups have travelled with us to one of our summer camp locations and it has been our pleasure to arrange this. However, sadly, all good things come to an end and due mostly to the reasons detailed below we have had to take this very difficult decision.

As Director of Jeka Holidays, I am due to retire in September 2019 after the summer season in Adelboden. I have been involved with Jeka for over 40 years and was responsible for the set up and running of Jeka Holidays in the UK since 1986. I also started our camps in Adelboden in 1999 and have been running the operation there ever since. Unfortunately, despite exploring many options, it has not been possible to find a successor for my position. In addition to this, our partners and former owners of Jeka Holidays (Jeka v.z.w. in Belgium) are no longer able to offer us the same accommodation arrangements as in the past, which greatly restricts the range of tours that we can offer to our groups.

As the standard of service that we offer to our groups is our highest priority, we feel it would be impossible to continue to offer the same level of service in the future and so with all of this in mind, we have come to this regrettable conclusion.

All of you will have dealt with both Christine and Nicola over the years and I am sure you will join me in wishing them well in the future. Christine has been with us since the beginning and Nicola joined us when we moved to Taunton in 2001. They have looked after hundreds of groups and have done a fantastic job running the office. I think without exception you would all agree that from the moment you made your first contact, they went out of their way to make sure your trips ran smoothly.

I also must sincerely thank our dedicated team of volunteers, far too many to name them all but I must give a special mention Christine Jones, Eileen Nitsch and Jayne Winslow who have looked after groups for us over many years. Without the hard work of all our volunteers, who join us every year, none of this would have been possible.

I would also like to thank you, our loyal customers, many of whom have become friends and some of you have travelled with us numerous times over the years. It has been an honour and a pleasure to be part of such a unique organisation that has helped groups to create memories that will last a lifetime.

Further to the preceding text, and on a more positive note, we have been in discussion with Venture Abroad over the past few months and I am delighted to say that they are committed to working with us for the remainder of 2019 with the intention of reviewing and adapting their existing product offering for Adelboden to one more similar to that provided by Jeka. We are aware that many of you have an interest in taking your group to Adelboden in 2020 and beyond, so would encourage you to contact Venture Abroad who will be happy to accommodate our customers, both past and present. They also, of course, have a range of destinations in addition to Adelboden, to suit all age groups.